Shizuoka

Culture, attractions
and entertainment

The main attractions of the city and prefecture are in one way or another connected with the legacy of shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. In particular, in the city of Shizuoka itself there is a reconstructed castle of the shogun, Sunpu, which became his personal residence after his retirement and return to his homeland from Edo in 1605. Shizuoka also hosts the Shizuoka Matsuri, a major cherry blossom viewing festival, every April. What sets it apart from many similar festivals throughout Japan is the fact that this festival is also a tribute to the memory of Ieyasu Tokugawa, who regularly attended cherry blossom season celebrations here, accompanied by the “daimyo”, the local aristocracy. And on Mount Shizuhata there is the Shinto shrine complex Shizuoka Sengen, which in the past was also under the patronage of the Tokugawa clan. This complex consists of three temples: Kambe-jinja, Sengen-jinja and Ohtoshimioya-jinja. According to Japanese historical chronicles, these temples were founded by Japanese emperors back in the Kofun era. An annual temple festival is also held in April. Another Shinto shrine, Kunyozan Tosho-gu, is famous for the fact that it was here that the original burial place of Ieyasu Tokugawa was located, whose ashes were then reburied in Nikko. Finally, it is worth noting Mariko-juku, the twentieth station on the famous Tokaido highway, which connected Kyoto and Edo. It was one of the smallest stations on the route, like all the others, it is depicted in Ando Hiroshige’s series of prints “The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido”. The shortest time travel from Tokyo to Shizuoka train station is on the Shinkansen super express train of the Tokaido line.